NTA announces NEET-UG 2026 re-exam on June 21 and opens city change window after cancelling the May 3 test over paper leak allegations.
NEW DELHI, May 16: Days after cancelling the NEET-UG 2026 examination over alleged paper leak and malpractice concerns, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued a fresh notification announcing that the re-examination will now be conducted on June 21, 2026, in pen-and-paper mode across India and abroad.
The latest notification comes after the Government of India and the NTA decided earlier this week to scrap the original May 3 examination following inputs from law enforcement agencies and mounting allegations surrounding the integrity of the test.
According to the new notice issued by the NTA, the re-examination will be held from 2 PM to 5:15 PM (IST), including the time allotted for examination formalities. The exam will continue in offline mode and will be conducted in 13 languages including Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
The agency has also opened a special correction and update window for candidates who wish to modify their present address or examination city preferences because of relocation or other circumstances since the original examination date.
Candidates can update their present address and revise their first and second choice of examination cities through the official NTA website between May 15 and May 21, 2026, until 11:50 PM. The NTA clarified that no additional fee will be charged for this facility.
The notification stated that only present address details and examination city preferences can be modified during this period. No other corrections in candidate particulars will be permitted. Candidates who do not make any changes within the given period will retain their previously selected examination cities.
The city intimation slips and fresh admit cards for the re-examination will be released later through the official NTA portals.
The latest announcement follows the NTA’s May 12 decision cancelling the earlier examination conducted on May 3 after allegations of question paper leaks surfaced in multiple states. In its earlier press release, the agency stated that the matter had been examined in coordination with central agencies and law enforcement authorities.
The NTA had then said that investigative findings shared by enforcement agencies indicated that the examination process “could not be allowed to stand,” leading to the decision to annul the exam and hold a fresh test.
The Centre has also referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. The NTA stated earlier that it would fully cooperate with the investigation and provide all necessary records and materials to the agency.
The cancellation of the country’s largest medical entrance examination triggered anxiety and uncertainty among lakhs of aspirants and parents across the country, including students from Northeast India who had already travelled to examination centres or completed months of preparation for the May 3 test.
In its earlier statement, the NTA acknowledged that re-conducting the examination would cause “real and significant inconvenience” to candidates and families but maintained that the decision was necessary to preserve trust in the national examination system.
The agency has confirmed that all existing candidate data, examination centre choices, and registrations from the May 2026 cycle will automatically be carried forward for the re-examination. No fresh application process will be required, and candidates will not have to pay any additional examination fee. Students who had already paid examination fees for the cancelled test will also not be charged again.
The NTA has urged candidates and parents to rely only on official communication channels for updates related to examination cities, admit cards, and schedules, cautioning against misinformation circulating on social media platforms.
For candidates from remote regions, including parts of the Northeast, the option to revise examination city preferences may provide some relief, particularly for students who shifted locations after the cancellation announcement or faced logistical challenges during the earlier schedule.
The agency said the guidelines and instructions for appearing in NEET-UG 2026 will remain the same as those mentioned in the original information bulletin available on the official website.
Candidates seeking clarification regarding the examination can contact the NTA helpline numbers or reach out through the official NEET-UG email support system, the notification added.
